“Pick a Pair” Budweiser ad in “The Saturday Evening Post,” June 17, 1961.
The uptight 1950s and 1960s were decades of social and cultural changes in the United States, especially in the areas of sexuality and gender roles. However, these changes were often met with resistance and conservatism, especially in the advertising industry, which was dominated by white, male executives. Therefore, many advertisers used subtle or not-so-subtle ways to disguise sexual content in their ads. For example, the use of double entendres or innuendos that implied sexual meanings or activities, but could also be interpreted as innocent or humorous. The most glaring example of this is a 7-Up ad from September 1963 featuring a woman bending over to pick up a bottle of 7-Up, with the caption “It’s amazing what you can do with just two fingers and a thumb!” That ad recently went viral.
UPDATE: Just checked with Snopes.com, and they claim that the 7-Up ad I mention above is FAKE. The graphic portion of the ad is REAL but the caption is NOT. The original caption read "Need alley-oop? It's yours with this quick, fresh lift!"
In any case, the "Pick a Pair" Budweiser ad comes from my copy of "The Saturday Evening Post," so I know it isn't a fake.
“Pick a Pair” Budweiser ad in “The Saturday Evening Post,” June 17, 1961.
The uptight 1950s and 1960s were decades of social and cultural changes in the United States, especially in the areas of sexuality and gender roles. However, these changes were often met with resistance and conservatism, especially in the advertising industry, which was dominated by white, male executives. Therefore, many advertisers used subtle or not-so-subtle ways to disguise sexual content in their ads. For example, the use of double entendres or innuendos that implied sexual meanings or activities, but could also be interpreted as innocent or humorous. The most glaring example of this is a 7-Up ad from September 1963 featuring a woman bending over to pick up a bottle of 7-Up, with the caption “It’s amazing what you can do with just two fingers and a thumb!” That ad recently went viral.
UPDATE: Just checked with Snopes.com, and they claim that the 7-Up ad I mention above is FAKE. The graphic portion of the ad is REAL but the caption is NOT. The original caption read "Need alley-oop? It's yours with this quick, fresh lift!"
In any case, the "Pick a Pair" Budweiser ad comes from my copy of "The Saturday Evening Post," so I know it isn't a fake.